Finding Peace and Serenity
by MeAndMyHarpieDeck
Summary: Seto Kaiba always had an imbalance in his life, a part missing from himself. All he really needed was to achieve peace and Serenity. SetoxSerenity, possibly others as it continues.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer- Don't own, what's new?**

**Okay, I know that I haven't been on in forever and my last one-shot was less than perfect, but here I am trying to justify this crazy thing that I call writing. Oh and in case anyone wanted to know, all my fics are around the time period of Battle City, unless otherwise stated. Enough about me, enjoy (and hopefully review) this latest chaptered fic about my fav pairing SetoxSerenity!**

Seto Kaiba always had an imbalance in his life, a part missing from himself. All he really needed was to achieve peace and Serenity. S

**-**_Achieving Peace and Serenity_- CH.1

"I can't believe you talked me into this, Mokuba", Seto Kaiba groaned as he fixed his trench coat and stared unhappily at his school uniform. Mokuba was flipping through a magazine labeled _Duel Monsters Weekly_ and reclining casually on a dark blue couch in his brother's lavish bedroom, "Trust me Seto, you'll enjoy school this year."

"Why would this year be any different from the last three?" Kaiba scowled.

"It's your last year! You might even make some friends."

Kaiba thought sourly that he didn't need any friends, but he kept quiet, his brother had looked so pleased with himself when he finally convinced Seto to finish school instead of focusing all his time at KaibaCorp. Its true that a Kaiba could do anything when they put their mind to it, how else would a teenager be the CEO and president of a worldwide company worth billions of dollars?

Seto grabbed his laptop off of his large oak desk and placed inside his silver briefcase. "Let's go Mokuba," He commanded. Mokuba hopped to his feet and ditched his magazine to a nearby end table. They made their way out down the granite staircase and out of the foyer to wait for their limo to pull around. Seto frowned as he saw that a few of his favorite blue roses were wilting. He had always took pride in his rare assortment of blue flowers (who would of thought that Kaiba liked gardening?) that he kept around and inside the mansion. He made a mental note to fire whoever was in charge of watering the gardens.

The sleek, black limo pulled into the Kaiba's cobblestone drive way and the chauffeur got out and offered the door to the two.

"Morning, Mr. Kaiba, sir," the man bowed respectfully. Seto grunted in reply and slid in next to his younger brother, who had already had out some sort of gaming device and was clicking away eagerly, a content smile plastered on his young face. He grinned slightly at his younger brother. The rod iron gates began to open to let the limo through as Seto flipped open his laptop.

He started a new document with the intention of using it for school notes. He had just begun to type when he looked out of his window and saw a familiar figure standing on the sidewalk alongside the limo in the girl's version of his school uniform. Her large hazel eyes seemed to smile on her petite porcelain face. She was saying something to the boy next to her, but his face was turned, so Seto couldn't see who it was. Where had he seen this girl before? He quickly rolled down his window, and stuck his head out as far is he could to see if he could see who the auburn-haired girl was. Alas, the limo was moving to fast and the girl faded into the distance like a mirage.

"Mokuba!" Mokuba's head popped up from his game at the sound of his brother's impatient voice , "Who was that girl?"

"What girl?" he replied , turning his head back down so as to avoid being eaten by the blinking monsters on the screen.

"Never mind." Kaiba sank back down into his seat, but couldn't get the girl out of his mind. Who was she?

...

"C'mon big brother. We're going to be late!" Serenity tried to rush her brother along the sidewalk even though he was engrossed in his breakfast burrito, when a long black limo sped in front of them. She could of sworn that she saw Seto Kaiba's head poke out of one of the windows, but she was probably mistaken. Serenity let out a sigh, secretly she wished it would have been him, she had always kind of admired him after she met him in Battle City. He wasn't exactly friendly, or approachable for that matter, but he was really sweet to his littler brother. He reminded me a little bit of Joey in a strange way. Speaking of Joey... "Joey! We have to go. I really don't want to be late." Joey swallowed a huge bite but refused to hurry up. Serenity told him that she would just meet him there.

"Okay, okay, 'Ren. Just go ahead, and I promise tomorrow we'll catch the bus."

Serenity gave her brother a quick hug and got on her way to her first day at Joey's high school. She loved her big brother more than anything in the world, but sometimes he could be a pain in the, well, you know. The rest of the walk was relatively short, and with her fast pace, Serenity had made it to the school early. She had a younger student point her to wear the office was. He seemed a little surprised that she was talking to him, but finally managed to tell her where it was. She smiled a pleasant 'thank you' smile and started walking in the direction he had pointed her.

"Did ya see that?" the boy whispered to all his friends excitedly.

Serenity grasped the handle to the door with the words '**OFFICE**' printed in big block letters on it. She was greeted with the exasperated faces of the office ladies trying hopelessly to sort through all the students and paperwork that come with the new school year. People were running around the crowded office and papers were strewn everywhere.

"Um, excuse me. Miss?" Serenity tried, and failed, to get the attention of one of the staff members. "Hello? Can anybody help me?" attempted, but her small voice was drowned out yet again by all the commotion.

"That's no way to get thing done," a deep voice sounded behind her.

She spun around to find the owner of the voice, but instead found herself face-to-chest with Seto Kaiba himself. Serenity's face felt about a million degrees as she stared up at him with her mouth agape, resembling a very red goldfish. She couldn't think of a single thing to say! Kaiba smirked down at her for a minute, but then turned his attention to the women scrambling around behind the partition, "Listen! I need the schedule for Miss..." He gestured to Serenity.

Serenity's brain clicked into gear as she practically whispered, "Serentiy Wheeler."

"Yes Mister Kaiba!" one of the women dashed off into a back room to retrieve what he needed.

_Wheeler! That's where I know her from. She's the sister of that third-rate duelist, Joey Wheeler. _Seto Kaiba thought to himself, pleased. _Funny, they look nothing alike._ Within minutes a file with 'Serentiy Wheeler' scrawled across the top was placed in his hands.

"Here." He shoved the file into her hands and proceeded to get his own schedule. "Thank you! I would have never been able to get it myself."

"Yeah, probably."

"Oh," Serenity looked a bit hurt, but quickly brushed it off, "Well, thank you anyway, it meant a lot." She bowed out of respect and turned to leave.

"Don't mention it," Kaiba replied. It was barely more than a whisper, but Serenity heard it and smiled to herself as she left the office and into the crowded hall. _Okay Serenity, where to?_ She looked down at her schedule. Honors English was her first class. And yes, that class is only for seniors, but Serenity was bumped up to the next grade since she's so smart. After a few minutes of maneuvering around students, she found her locker and her next class.

She let out a sigh of relief as she made her way into the classroom. She chose a seat towards the back and set up her notebooks. She had already focused in on what was written on the board for the students to copy down that she didn't even notice that a person had chosen a seat next to her and sat down. She finished writing down the paragraph and looked up, her surroundings coming into focus. It was then that she became aware of the person next to her. The azure eyes of Seto Kaiba were intently focused on her own hazel ones. She struggled for words, the second time today. "Uh, hi," was all she could manage.

"It looks like we'll be seeing each other a lot more." He shook his brown locks out of his eyes and turned back to the board.

"Uh-huh," she squeaked.

**Well, this is as good a time as any to stop. Let me know what you guys think, but for your own safety-don't flame. I know its kinda OOC and all that, but how did I do for the first chapter? All right, I hope to see you next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I know, I know. Im like the WORST updater ever! I just had a lot of stuff come up, like I got sick, and I had school and practice and... Im making excuses. Whatevs here's the next chapter! A Oh and I don't yugioh.**

Finding Peace and Serenity- Ch.2

"How was your first day of school sis?"

"Oh you know, a bit hectic, but I guess it was fine."

"Is there anyone interesting in your classes?"

_Just the famous, super-rich, arrogant, teen CEO of a billion dollar corporation!_ "Not really," Serenity lied. She and her brother had just met up after school and had begun to walk home. The rest of the walk was silent except for the sound of Serenity's shoes clicking against the pavement.

They reached their apartment and Joey produced a small brass key from out his backpack and opened the door.

"You comin' in sis?" Joey held the door open for his sister who had stopped on the middle of the doorway.

"Just a second, okay?"

Joey shrugged and headed into 2k apartment (2k= two rooms plus a kitchen). Serenity turned to the side of the door frame and crouched down by a rectangular window box she had installed when she moved in with her brother. She picked up a small watering can and began dousing her pale pink roses she so carefully planted. "That ought to do it," she cooed and placed the can back on the ground. She delicately rubbed one of the silken petals between her thumb and forefinger.

No matter what she told her brother, her first day was most certainly _not_ fine. She not only had Honors English with him, but she also shared the same lunch period. Luckily, however, she also had that lunch period with her brother and his friends. How was she going to deal with being in the same class as Seto Kaiba? Everybody she knew would tell her that they could hardly be around Kaiba for more than ten seconds and now she was being forced to spend a portion of her day, five days a week with him! What would Joey say if he knew we were in the same class? Probably something like, " I can't stand dat Kaiba! 'Ren your gettin' out of dat class right NOW!" Serenity laughed to herself as she pictured her brother glaring up at Kaiba. Serenity stopped laughing and thought seriously for a moment _What am I going to do?_

Seto hung his trenchcoat on the back of his office chair and sat down in front of his laptop. He started typing out and expense report, but his heart wasn't in it. He was half-way through when he looked over his work and found that what written so far looked like it had been through a paper shredder. He let out a sigh and cupped his face in his hands. He knew trying to get anymore work done just wasn't happening so he closed his laptop and rested his elbows on his desk. How could anyone get anything done when they just found out mere hours ago that they would be getting the opportunity to spend their school day with Serenity Wheeler.

There was only one problem, she didn't seem to like him that much. His reputation must really proceed him. For some reason he normally couldn't get girls to stop fawning over him and yet the second Serenity had noticed him sitting next to her he had seen her face fall and her back stiffen. For the rest of the class Serenity hadn't said a word, she just sat there with a deadpan expression and her head either straight forward or turned away from him. That morning he had really wanted to talk to her, something he didn't do that often, but she seemed like an interesting person to hold a conversation with. _Hmm_ he thought to himself silently _we'll just have to wait and see, now won't we? _For the next half hour or so Seto sat quietly thinking on what was going to happen tomorrow at school.

Suddenly, the sound of a child's feet running down the hall reached Seto's ears just in time for his large doors to be flung open. He looked up at Mokuba's childish face which broke into a large Cheshire grin when he saw his older brother sitting behind the desk.

"Seto! How was your first day at school?" Mokuba questioned bracing himself for one of his older brother's famous rants about how school is a waste of his valuable time. But to his surprise, Seto answered in a very different way.

"Not bad," he replied, a smirk plastered on his face. _Not bad at all._

**Okay, I apologize for the shortness, I promise the next chapter will be a million miles long! I actually did a bit of research while doing this chapter (ha) on roses and such. A blue rose signifies attaining the impossible, which suits Seto Kaiba and a pale pink rose sort of represents sweetness and innocence. Im not really using the meanings or anything but I thought that was interesting and wanted to share that with you. Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers! Review and I'll see you in the next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Yu-gi-oh.**

Finding Peace and Serenity- Ch.3

_What to chose, what to chose_ Serenity thought as she ran her finger over the school bulletin board. Serenity was currently searching through all the brightly colored flyers until she got to the section she had been looking for- Job Offers. Despite Joey's protests, Serenity was intent of getting a job to support the two siblings. She couldn't let Joey pay the rent all by himself.

"This sounds interesting," Serenity pulled out the tack and read over the page until she had memorized it. She folded the paper into a neat square and pocketed it for later. The first bell of the day rang through the crowded halls, sending Serenity in to a frenzy to reach her class in time.

Serenity slipped into her seat just before the tardy bell. She looked to her left and to her dismay, found it empty. It had been a week since school started and everyday Seto Kaiba had sat next to her. They talked every once in awhile and Serenity had gotten used to his presence.

"Your late, Mr. Kaiba," the teacher scolded as the tall brunette strode into the room.

"You'll cope," he shot back.

The teacher scowled and scribbled something down on her clipboard. As she turned back to the board to finish writing the rest of the day's lesson, Kaiba sat down next to Serenity. "Hey," he sighed, obviously exhausted. His eyes had dark rings around them and his blue coat was messed up, along with his usually sleek brown hair.

"You don't look so good, are you alright?" Serenity asked gently.

"Of course I'm not alright you idiot! Are you blind?!" He snapped fiercely. A few kids looked back at them.

"Sorry for asking," Serenity's face fell and her large doe eyes moistened.

They sat together in silence. Kaiba yelled at everyone, he didn't think anything of it, but as soon as he looked over at Serenity he instantly regretted it. She had her head bent down and her long hair was shielding her face, but Kaiba saw the single tear that rolled off her chin and splashed onto her paper. He groaned in self-frustration and leaned toward her desk so the other students couldn't hear him apologize.

"Serenity listen, I didn't mean to say that. I had a really long night last nigh and I guess Im just really irritable right now. Okay?"

Serenity wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and forced a small smile, "Okay." The rest of the class was still spent in total quiet, but this time it was a much more comfortable, companionable silence.

The bell rang and everybody got up to leave. Serenity gathered her papers (which she hardly worked on all class) and her binders and began to leave when the flyer she saved fell out of her skirt pocket and onto the classroom floor. Kaiba reached down and scooped up the small paper. "Hey Serenity wait-!" but she had already left.

_Hello, what's this?_ Kaiba thought as he unfolded the flyer. _Wheeler's getting a job?_

[LATER]

"Okay Serenity, you're hired."

"Great! Thank you so much," Serenity warmly shook the hand of her new employer, Mrs. Bradford. Serenity had just been employed at a local coffee house/ bakery.

_I can't wait to tell Joey!_ She thought as the bells above her chimed when she pushed open the door._ Brr!_ Serenity clutched her bag to her chest in a lame attempt to shield her small body from the biting cold. It had been rather overcast all week, and it seemed that today it would finally rain. Serenity picked up her pace and just as she got to her apartment the sky opened up and sheets of rain poured down on Domino. _That was close, _she thought as she stepped into the miracle that is a heated room.

"Joey! Joey guess what?" Serentiy called through out the apartment. She walked into the kitchen (Joey's favorite room) and placed her jacket on the back of a dining chair. A small piece of paper was placed in the middle of the table. It read:

**Dear Serenity,**

**Im Yugi's. Don't stay up waiting.**

**Love Ya,**

**Joey**

_I guess I'll have to tell him tomorrow _she thought as she brought the note into her room and placed it in the ever-growing pile of notes Joey left her on her desk. Joey always left her a note whenever he left to go somewhere or when he wasn't coming home. Serenity undressed and slipped into her light pink pajamas. She snuggled into her warm duvet and watched the rain tickle down her bedroom window. The light pitter-patter of the rain soothed Serenity's tired mind and helped her drift off into a peaceful sleep.

Kaiba stared at the clock on his desk. 1:45 a.m. blinked back at him. These long hours were starting to take its toll on him and he still had a good two hours of work ahead of him! The stress of running a company at 17 was almost to much for even Seto Kaiba sometimes. Especially when it seemed that every idiot he employed was _trying_ to mess up there jobs. Two had been fired already this week!

After 3 more hours of tedious work, he passed out. His head hit the keys and that was it.

Unfortunately for Kaiba, his alarm woke him up half an hour later. He grudgingly peeled himself from his keyboard. He slowly made his way into Mokuba's room. He made a mental note to have Mokuba clean his room as his foot plunged into something green and sticky.

"Mokie, Mokie wake up," Seto gently rubbed his brother's shoulder. Mokuba rolled over, but he didn't make a move to get up. "Mokuba, come on. You've got school tomorrow."

Mokuba sat up in his bed and coughed hoarsely. Seto placed his palm on his brother's forehead, "You're burning up!"

"No I'm fine," Mokuba pauses and coughed loudly once more.

"Your sick, Mokuba. I don't want you going to school like this," he warned sternly.

"Really Seto, Im fine. Im going to go to school," Mokuba tried a weak smile.

"Okay," he replied reluctantly, "but you call me the minute you get too sick. I'll come straight there. I mean it!"

Mokuba nodded and got up to get ready. His vision was a bit hazy, but there was no way he could get sick. Seto had to go to school in the day and work all night and he never got sick. _I'm not going to let Seto down!_

Kaiba was late to class again. The teacher threatened him with detention if he was tardy one more time.

"Your pathetic, don't you have anything better to do?" He was in no mood to deal with idiotic teachers.

"Not another word Mr. Kaiba!"

"Bite me," he commented dryly and took his usual seat. "What's your problem?!" he snapped at a student staring at him. The boy's eyes grew wide and his head jerked forward. Everything here wanted to make Kaiba gag. Well, maybe not everything. Serenity was looking at him with a concerned look in her hazel eyes. If it was anyone else staring at him so intently, he would have said something. Oh wait, I guess he already had, hadn't he?

"Here," Serenity reached into her bag and produced a neat white box, "I was saving this for lunch, but you could use it more than me." She gave a friendly smile and slid the box on to his desk.

"Um, thanks," Seto Kaiba didn't get gifts, well maybe from Mokuba, but why would he? He placed the box into his backpack carefully. When he looked back up, Serenity was already hard at work on the assignment.

By the time lunch rolled around Kaiba was in a much better mood, if you could call it that. He took his spot at the top of the cafeteria by himself where he wouldn't be bothered. He had already opened his laptop when her remembered Serenity's gift.. When he opened the box he found a perfect piece of tiramisu. The edges were cleanly cut and the cocoa powder was sprinkled evenly over the top. He couldn't help but smile as he took a bite and felt the dessert melt in his mouth. Kaiba employed a full time staff of professional chefs, and yet, he had never tasted something quite so delicious. He finished off the last bite and looked at Serenity's table. She was smiling along with the rest of their 'gang'. Then he saw it, or rather didn't see it. There wasn't any food in front of the girl. She had given him the only thing she had brought to eat. She really was a selfless person.

_Brring! Brring! _Kaiba's coat pocket shook violently. He whipped open his phone, "Kaiba. Yes. Mm-hm. WHAT?!"

Over half the students turned to look at the teenager yelling into his phone, including Serenity.

Kaiba lowered his voice, "Yes, I'll be right there." With that he snapped it closed and rushed out of the cafeteria.

"Excuse me. I'll be right back," Serenity excused herself from her table and hurried after Kaiba. She finally caught up to him just as he was leaving the building. "What's wrong?" Serenity inquired, slightly out of breath.

"I can't really talk now. Something's wrong with Mokuba, I've got to go," his voice was high and sounded panicked.

"Then let's go."

**Okay, that's the best of a cliffie you'll ever get from about not updating in forever. I do write out all my chapters first so it can take awhile. Oh and I got a review saying I made mistakes with my punctuation and stuff, so if you see anything specifically please point it out. I'll update soon!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own YGO.**

**Tiramisu means "pick me up" in Italian. **

Finding Peace and Serenity- Ch.4

The limo ride to Mokuba's middle school was tense. Kaiba sat across from Serenity, his posture rigid and his face emotionless. _I hope Mokuba's alright_ Serentiy thought. Apparently, during his gym class Mokuba had thrown up and passed out.

Kaiba had told the school not to send his brother to the hospital, he didn't trust doctors. They were all money-hungry, they'd fix you, but only the minimum for the maximum price. They'd keep you in the hospital if it meant a fatter paycheck.

Before the limo had even pulled to a complete stop in the school's parking lot, Kaiba had already hopped out, closely followed by Serenity. They made their way to the nurse's office and when they found it, Kaiba nearly yanked the door clear off its hinges. Mokuba was lying on a cot, obviously unconscious. Kaiba tried to get Mokuba to come to, but nothing worked. The kid was out like a light. Kaiba turned to the nurse waiting patiently off to the side, "I'll be taking him now."

She made a slight bow and headed back to her small office. Serenity hurried ahead of Kaiba, opening doors. Mokuba hung limp in his older brother's arms.

As if by magic the limo's chauffeur had already pulled the car around front and had the door open and waiting. Kaiba chose the backseat and placed Mokuba's head in his lap. Serenity slid in next to the Kaiba brothers. Out of motherly instinct Serenity stroked Mokuba's thick, black hair. Mokuba snuggled into his brother's shirt. Kaiba watched her intently, every move she made seem to intrigue him. Each stroke of her slender fingers seemed so gentle and pure, kinder than anything he had seen in a long time.

"We're here, Mr. Kaiba," the driver announced, jolting Kaiba out of his thoughts. The door opened to reveal Kaiba Mansion, a three-story manor surrounded by brilliant gardens and walkways. Kaiba tossed his keys to Serenity, "Go open the door."

"Right!" she hurried to the front door while Kaiba scooped Mokuba into his arms and carried him inside.

"Do you have a soft place to put him?" Serenity asked.

"Yeah, we'll take him to my room. Follow me."

Serenity followed Kaiba up two flights of stairs and into the master suite, complete with cherrywood bed, wall-to-wall squish blue carpet, and very modern furniture. Kaiba slipped his brother into the warm bed and pulled the covers over him. Mokuba started sniffling.

"Prop up his head. It will clear his sinuses," Serenity directed.

"Uh, okay," Kaiba wasn't used to taking direction, but he did as told and slipped a few pillows under Mokuba's head. The sniffling stopped.

There were two chairs to one side of the bed. Kaiba chose one, Serenity the other. They both sat staring at Mokuba, the poor boy was wheezing in his sleep. After possibly an hour of silent observation Serenity sprung out of her chair and asked, " Where's your kitchen?"

"My brother is sick and all you can think about is food?!"

Serenity's face flushed with a combination of embarrassment and anger, "Not for me! For Mokuba!"

"Oh. Well, the always has Fridays off so noone will be able to make anything."

"That won't be a problem," Serenity replied, "Could you tell me the way?"

"Simple. Go down the stairs at the end of the hall, turn left, then right, second flight of stairs, two more rights , you're there."

"Got it."

Ten minutes later, Serenity was back. "Uh, I kinda got lost. Heh," she explained sheepishly.

"Ugh, fine. Follow me Wheeler," Kaiba rose to his full height and opened the door to the hallway. Serenity's mind was spinning as she was led down endless corridors. _I'm afraid that I'd get lost if I lived here!_ She thought.

"Here we are," Kaiba pushed open the swinging doors to reveal the most state-of-the-art kitchen Serenity had ever seen; granite countertops, high-tech machines and a refrigerator the size of Antarctica. "Use whatever you need."

Kaiba sat down at the island and watched Serenity amused ad she familiarized herself with his kitchen. Before long she was pulling things off shelves like she owned the place. The room was silent except for the low _thunk, thunk _of Serenity's knife. Kaiba couldn't take his eyes off her small frame as she slid the carrots on her cutting board into a pot bubbling away on the stove. She sprinkled something into the pot from a glass jar and reached for a wooden spoon.

The aroma coming from the stove was killing Kaiba. He had to know what she was making. Serenity had her back to the island as she continued to stir. He slowly came up behind her and craned his neck over her shoulder so he could get a better look at what he'd been smelling. Serenity could feel his hot breath on her neck and his firm body pressed lightly on her back. He wrapped his large hand around Serenity's petite one (which had stopped stirring) and lifted a spoonful to his mouth. The taste and warmth spread through out his mouth, "What is this?"

"Oh, um, its medley soup," Serenity replied, her breath catching in her throat.

"It's good, really good. So, tell me, why are your good at this holistic care taking thing?"

By now, Kaiba had backed away from Serenity and was leaning against the island. "It's nothing really, I'm always having to take care of Joey when he gets sick, so I guess its second nature. Don't you take care of Mokuba when he gets sick like this?"

"Mokuba doesn't get sick. Ever. He's never missed a day of school."

Serenity thought about it for a second. " Maybe he just doesn't want you to know he's sick. Like he doesn't want you to have to worry about him."

As they stared each other in the eye, a thousand thoughts were running through their minds, but nothing was spoken. The only thing that shook them out of their trance was the soup that bubbled over the rim of the pot and sizzled into the flames. "Oh gosh!" Serenity whipped around and snatched the pot of the burner, "I better get this up to Mokuba."

Serenity quickly placed the soup on a tray along with some bread and rush out of the kitchen. She hoped that Kaiba hadn't noticed how red her face had been or much she had been shaking. Just being around him made her heart kick into overdrive.

Kaiba hung back at the island, trying to put some distance between himself and Serenity. He wasn't used to acting like this. He never acted so ... open. There was a part of him that felt completely safe when he was around her, but another part of himself wasn't ready to give up quite so easily. Kaiba sighed, _I need some sleep. Its messing with my head._

"Ser-Serenity?" Mokuba's eyes blinked open to find himself in his brother's bed and Serenity Wheeler staring up at him from a spot on the floor. His brother sat behind her on the couch. He looked back and forth between the girl and his brother. "What's going on?"

"Well, um, I that is-" Serenity explained rather lamely, but was cut off by Kaiba.

"You passed out at school, I brought you home, She's just here to help," he explained nonchalantly.

"Oh," Mokuba sank back into the down pillows.

Trying to change the subject, Serenity lifted the tray of food on to the bed, "Here, I thought you might want something to eat."

Mokuba took the tray from her outstretched arms, "You made this?" Serenity nodded. Mokuba took a big spoonful and munched contently. "Mmm!"

Serenity smile and crossed her arms on the edge of the bed, setting her head on top. She watched Mokuba as he enjoyed the soup she made for him. Serenity was always happy whenever someone enjoyed her cooking, it just made her want to smile all over!

Mokuba wiped his mouth on his sleeve and pushed the tray forward. "Thank you so much Serenity!" he said as he wrapped his arms around the girl's neck.

"Aww! No problem, it was my pleasure," she gushed, "Now feel better, 'Kay? I'll be right here if you need me."

"Okay Serenity," he agreed and pulled the duvet up to his neck and settled in for a rest.

Kaiba watched on with slight envy. Mokuba seemed to really take to Serenity. Mokuba had been awake for nearly an hour and he had only paid attention to her. The most he had gotten from Mokuba was 'oh'. Serenity was carrying on with him like _they _were siblings. "Am I a bad brother?"

Serenity turned to face him. Kaiba hadn't meant to actually say it out loud. "No, you're not a bad brother. That's not it at all."

"What do you know, Wheeler?" he snapped fiercely. He didn't need Serenity butting in on his personal matters.

Serenity got up from the floor and sat next to Kaiba on the couch, a warm look in her hazel eyes, "I know that Mokuba loves you a lot. Really, the kid worships the ground you walk on! Mokuba tries so hard to please you. Why do you think he didn't want to get sick? He loves you, just like I love Joey."

"Who could ever love that mutt?"

Serenity just smiled. Like she knew that no matter what Kaiba said he knew she was right. And she was, too. Kaiba looked at Mokuba's sleeping form and how the comforter rose and fell with each breath his brother took. _Serenity's right_ he admitted to himself.

_Now to get some work done. _Kaiba opened his laptop and begun working on the prototypes for the new duel disks. They had to be done soon and he had already fired two out of the three people who were assigned to work on this project. He was the third. _So if I increase the dimensions of the hologram projector by 2.5 cm then... _THUNK. Kaiba looked to find that Serenity had fallen asleep and her head was now resting on his shoulder. Her auburn hair fell across his shoulder and pooled in his lap, filling his nostrils with the sweet scent of cherry blossoms. Kaiba tried to focus on his computer by his eyes kept wandering back to Serenity's gentle sleeping face.

After awhile Kaiba checked his watch and found it to be past ten already. _Might as well get some sleep. _He closed his laptop and set on the carpet besides the couch. He tried to move Serenity's head off his shoulder, but she held on to his arm in her sleep. _Oh, screw it _he thought and turned to the side and laid down on his back, his head resting on the arm of the couch. Because of his height, Kaiba took up nearly the whole couch. Serenity laid on her side between his legs on top of his chest, breathing peacefully. She snuggled up under his chin and pressed his palm between her fingers. Kaiba smiled as he drifted of to sleep, Serenity in his arms.

**Im so happy with the way this chapter came out! What did you think? PLEASE review, its makes me want to update quicker. Let me know what you want to see in the future, too. Thanks for sticking with me!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I've actually had this chapter written up for like two or three weeks (wow, that long?!) But I didn't feel like posting. I completely understand if you've lost all interest in this fic, but for all those that stuck it out- I LOVE YOU ALL!!! I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

Finding Peace and Serenity CH.5-

What 16-year-old Serenity Wheeler woke up to one morning isn't exactly what one would expect. What she found was Seto Kaiba's arms wrapped around her waist and his face buried in her neck. This elicited a small gasp from Serenity as she realized what had happened. _I must of fallen asleep! _She pulled out her watch from underneath her and found it to be after eight o'clock. _It's Saturday, Im supposed to start work today! _

Reluctantly, Serenity wriggled out of his strong arms and stumbled around the poorly lit room, trying to locate her bag. She was making such a racket that Kaiba's eyes fluttered open to find Serenity face down on the carpet.

"Oww," Serenity rubbed her nose and scooped up her bag, which she had just tripped over.

Kaiba laughed inwardly at the clumsy girl. _She's such a character. _

Just as Serenity was pulling on her left shoe she became vaguely aware that someone was watching her. Her cheeks grew warm as she saw Kaiba slide off the couch and run his hands through his hair. Kaiba flashed his signature smirk at her, "You don't have to sneak out you know."

"I'm sorry to wake you up. I really have to get going, my work starts at ten. But thank you for your hospitality," Serenity nearly sprinted to the door, and almost made it too if it wasn't for Kaiba who grabbed her wrist forcefully.

"I'll take you."

"You really don't need to do tha-"

"Just shut-up Wheeler and follow me," Kaiba let go of her wrist and turned to the door.

"Oh, okay." In a weird way Serenity felt that this was Kaiba's own way of being sweet.

The pair made their way to the awaiting limo who's driver never seemed to have anywhere else to be. Kaiba yanked open the door, "get in."

Serenity ducked in and Kaiba chose the seat across from her, and started scrutinizing her intently. Serenity looked down at her disheveled clothes that she had worn the day before. She tried to smooth her pink skirt down as much as possible, but his gaze was unchanging. After a few minutes Kaiba could no longer take it and he broke the silence, "I'm sorry, but you look absolutely awful."

"I can't help it!" Serenity defended, running her fingers self-consciously through her long and currently tangled hair.

"You're work doesn't start for another hour or so, right?"

"I guess, but what does that have to do with...?"

"You cannot leave _my _limo looking like that. I won't allow it."

"Well, too bad! I can't exactly do anything about it."

"No, but I can," Kaiba said with a smirk, "Driver!"

"Wait what's going on?" Serenity was growing anxious.

Kaiba leaned over the partition and whispered something in the driver's ear. "Yes, Mr. Kaiba."

The car made a sudden swerve to the right, sending Serenity out of her seat and making her hit headfirst into Kaiba's chest. Immediately, Serenity apologized like crazy and scrambled back to her side of the limo. _This car should really have seatbelts! _

"What exactly do you have in that head of yours?"

At first Serenity was afraid he might be mad, but when she looked up Kaiba was rubbing his ribs and smiling gamely. "Oh," then Serenity started laughing like it was the funniest thing she had ever heard. Even Kaiba couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

The car slowed to a stop and Serenity asked, "So where are we anyway? I only have an hour and a half before my shift starts."

"Don't worry, you'll be back before then," he stepped out and offered Serenity his hand, which she politely took. Serenity found herself in front of an entire street filled with designer boutiques. "Choose whatever you like," Kaiba said with a sweeping gesture of his arm.

Serenity put an hand over her mouth as she ran up and down the store-fronts. Kaiba was very much amused as he watched her gasp at all the beautiful clothes displayed in glass cases surrounding her on every side. But of course, reality decided to step in. "Wait, Kaiba. This is too much. I can't let you buy me anything."

"It's not that big of a deal. Besides, you helped me out with Mokuba so I guess I owe you."

"But you already gave me a ride. This would just be too much."

"Trust me, its nothing."

"Okay. Well, thank you so much, I can't tell you how much this means to me. If you ever need anything, just ask. I mean it."

_Hmm. _Kaiba though a little about her proposal, but deciding that there was nothing he needed from her at the moment opened the door for Serenity, "After you." She squealed and rushed inside. He rolled his eyes and followed her in the store.

"Mr. Kaiba! How can I help you?" A friendly, bleached-out blond woman who seemed to have had one to many surgeries rushed towards the pair of teenagers, "Shopping for your new girlfriend are we?"

"No!" Serenity and Kaiba yelled simultaneously and scooted slightly away from each other.

"I see," the woman said, knowingly and turned to the scraggly girl standing in front of her, "I'm Veronica Taylor of Taylor Designs. And you are?"

"I'm Serenity Wheeler. It's very nice to meet you," Serenity bowed politely.

"Alright Ms. Serenity, what are we looking for today?"

"Um, well," Serenity looked over at where Kaiba was standing, as if asking permission.

Kaiba exhaled, "Money's not really an object here, but just make sure that she looks really cute."

Serenity's face turned the color of the red jacket to her left. Veronica snagged Serenity's arm and yanked her towards the fitting rooms, her acrylic nails digging into Serenity's skin. Kaiba found a purple velvet chair towards the side of the dressing rooms and opened his laptop. Every so often he would see Veronica run out, snatch something off an hanger and run back in. This was usually followed by a "It looks so good!" or "I can't wear this!" and sometimes, " What about... of course!"and _this_ would be followed by more running and snatching. Just when Kaiba had hit his breaking point and was about to yell for them to kindly shut up, the canvas curtain pulled back and Serenity stepped out in a brand new outfit.

"Its got that 'Kaiba flair'," Veronica explained.

Serenity's now smooth auburn hair was pulled back with a silky pink ribbon, matching the ribbons lacing up the sides of her black boots in tiny, little bows. A simple, knee-length pink dress, sheathed in a fine, black lace, complemented her petite frame. The 'Kaiba flair' came from a shortened trench coat, complete with pink buckles fastened over the white sleeves. It was similar to Kaiba's, especially in the way that it flowed unnaturally behind her. Serenity looked absolutely adorable and Kaiba couldn't help but gape.

"Cute, no?" Veronica interjected. Serenity fidgeted with her hands uncomfortably, she wasn't used to getting so much attention.

"I guess you look, uh, acceptable now," Kaiba whipped around towards his limo, there was no way he would let anyone, especially Serenity, see him blush. "Bill me for it later!" He called behind him, pushing open the glass door.

"Thank you Miss Veronica, I love it!" Serenity thanked her and received two kisses on either cheek by Veronica.

"My pleasure, you must come again! You could be my model!"

Serenity left the shop, her insides bursting with happiness. Its not everyday you get a personally selected outfit from a world-renown fashion designer. She practically skipped to the limo, she was so ecstatic. _This day keeps getting better and better!_ As Serenity plopped down on to the leather seat a lock of hair slipped out of her ponytail and hung by her chin, framing her face. "Your hair..." Kaiba looked perplexed, his face almost read 'how could this happen?'

"I'll fix it," She tried to smooth it back into place but her hand was smacked away rather roughly. "Oww," Serenity whimpered a little, rubbing her hand.

"Leave it," Kaiba demanded, but Serenity saw that something different was in his eyes. Kaiba twisted the loose hair around his fingers and lightly brought the back of his hand down Serenity's smooth cheek, feeling the silken hair slip through his fingers the more he his hand moved downward. As soon as Kaiba ran out of hair, he sat back and pretended to be interested in the view outside his window.

Serenity lifted her hand to her cheek where Kaiba had touched it. It felt warm and tingly. She felt dizzy and her mind continued to race at break-neck speeds. _What exactly is going on? Kaiba is acting so strange. _It seemed to Serenity that every time Kaiba was began to act nice towards her, he would suddenly be drawn back into his shell, usually resulting in a harsh word or to towards Serenity. In fact...

"Hey! Didn't you here me? We're here?" Serenity's head snapped up. She had been so absorbed in her own thoughts that she hadn't even heard Kaiba. Quickly, Serenity gathered her things, and her thoughts, and opened the door. Before shutting the car door, Serenity turned to Kaiba one last time, " Kaiba, I really can't thank you enough. Everything you've done for me was really nice."

"Yeah," he said, but not meanly. Serenity dipped a bow and shut the door with a slight bang. Kaiba almost wanted Serenity to stop walking into the small establishment and return to his limo. It was a foreign thought to Kaiba that he could miss another human being's presence, but over the last couple days he had kind of gotten used to having Serenity constantly at his side, even at school. She was a bit motherly, something Kaiba never really had the time to experience, but she was also sweet and innocent. Smart and mature, too. Kaiba was beginning to realize that he liked how Serenity could cook and care for Mokuba, how she was always cheerful and smiling, how she felt cuddled in his arms, and most of all Kaiba was starting to like Serenity.

_What am I going to do? _Kaiba thought. "Driver! Let's go!"

**Was it worth the wait? Well, my loyal amigos, thank you for taking the time to read my junk, I know there is a lot of other junk out there for you to read and Im thrilled you chose mine. Let me know how I'm doing and please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own yugioh. And in case anyone caught it- Veronica Taylor was the voice of Ash Ketchum in Pokemon.**

CH.6

Serenity did the only thing she could think of to get her mind off Kaiba- she threw herself into her work. After a quick prep by Ms. Bradford, Serenity was rolling out the dough for the apple turnovers. She grabbed a rolling pin and dipped in a bowl of nearby flour. _But what is going on? Could Kaiba...? _Serenity swatted the idea out of her head like a fly and snatched a vegetable peeler off a shelf. She hastily peeled the sour apple, she began squeezing the fruit so hard in between her fingers that she bruised the gentle flesh. _But what could it be?! _Serentiy brought the knife down, slicing the apple into two clean halves. The seeds inside the apple formed a perfect star.

Ms. Bradford walked into the room and placed a bony hand on Serenity's shoulder, "Customer's will be coming in soon. Let's get a move on. I'll finish these up and you go man the front, dear."

"Yes ma'am," Serenity slipped her apron over her head and set it gingerly on the counter, as if it would break if she put it down any harder. The door to the back room swung closed as she stepped into the front area of the shop and behind the glass case and register. A few customers began to file in and formed a misshapen line leading to Serenity. She always greeted each one with a big smile and tried to make each person feel special, adding extra whip cream to someone's mocha or putting a few more sprinkles on a cupcake. Everyone left the shop grinning, except the homeless man who kept stealing sugar packets and was eventually driven out by Ms. Bradford and her trusty broom.

Serenity's shift ended at three o' clock. She said goodbye to her boss and grabbed her new coat off the rack at the front of the store. She listened to the sound of her glossy boots tapping on the sidewalk as she walked home. She knew she would have to explain her new clothes to Joey somehow and she was hoping that the rhythmic clacking of her shoes would help her figure it out. She would also have to find a way to explain why she hadn't come home the night before. _I could always tell him the truth, _she thought optimistically. Suddenly images of Joey, arms flailing and screaming at the top of his lungs, flooded her mind. _Maybe that's not such a good idea _she thought and silently trudged home_. _

"Care to explain?" Joey had his arms crossed over his chest and his mouth twitched at the corners.

Serenity fidgeted on the couch, but said nothing. "HUH?!" Joey raised his voice. Serenity sank into the pillows, wishing she could disappear among the fluffy fabric. Her voice, no louder than a peep, finally made an appearance, "Joey, I'm sorry. I'm just so sorry." She buried her face in her fingers.

Joey's face and voice softened with concern, "Serenity, you have to tell me what happened, Kay? Did someone hurt you or something?"

She tried to compose herself the best she could, "No, nothing like that. I told you I got a job, right?"

"Yeah... but?"

"Well I, uh, had to take a night shift-" (Did the bakery have a night shift?) "- I should of told you, I'm sorry."

"Aww, Ren. That's nothing to cry about. Next time just try to rememba ya phone and give me a call."

Serenity gave her brother a hug and headed towards her bedroom. She found her phone on the end table in the hallway, she had indeed left it here. Before closing her door she mentioned to her brother that her boss had provided her with the new clothes as a welcoming gift. Luckily for her, Joey wouldn't know designer clothes if they bit him in the butt and didn't notice that her clothes were much to expensive for a small bakery owner to afford, let alone for an employee.

Serenity worked on her ongoing English assignment and even read a few chapters in her novel. It was a story about a young boy who was endowed with the powers of an ancient pharaoh and traveled with his friends, competing in card games. Serenity especially liked the small bits of romance between the rich and handsome business man and the sister of his enemy.

The sky outside her window grew dark. Serenity let out a yawn and flicked off her lights. She grabbed one of her favorite stuffed animals and snuggled into bed. Her head rested gently on the pillow. Her bed was soft and kept out the biting fall chill, but tonight it didn't feel inviting. Something felt strangely cold. The minutes crept by and still she was unable to fall asleep. She even piled more and more blankets on top of her until she began to sweat. She didn't know when it happened, but long after the rest of the city had already turned in, Serentiy finally drifted off.

Seto Kaiba had the exact opposite problem. As he tried to work into the night, the same couch he and Serenity shared the night before kept calling to him. He tried to ignore it, he even got up from his desk and walked right by it, to prove he didn't need it. But every once in awhile he would look above the flickering screen and see it there, waiting. He finally gave in and put on his blue pajamas. They smelled fresh and felt crisp and unused. _I'll just lay down for a minute or two. _But as soon as he laid down, the lingering smell of cherry blossoms enveloped him in a sweet blanket of comfort and familiarity. The last thing he saw before falling asleep were dozens of perfect stars twinkling outside his window.

...

"Mokuba, how often do I ask your advice on things?"

"Gee, I dunno, there was that time when I was six."

Kaiba sighed and reclined in his black chair.

"Why? Need help with something, Seto?" Mokuba switched his game off and sat up on the couch, his eyes wide with interest.

"Well, I was just wondering what you thought of Serenity," Kaiba tried to sound nonchalant.

"That depends. In what way do you mean?" Mokuba grinned madly.

"Just forget I asked," Kaiba turned back to his work, trying to forget about the young girl. Mokuba got up from the couch and headed for the door. Just as he was leaving, he turned and spoke to Kaiba, "I think she'd be great for you. So please don't screw it up." Kaiba wanted to yell, but Mokuba was already out the door and down the hall. _I like him better when he's sick, _Kaiba thought sourly.

Kaiba laced his fingers together and rested his elbows on his desk. His mind was clouded with conflicting emotions about Serenity. It was ridiculous how much time he had begun to spend brooding over the girl. He needed to put the matter to bed, once and for all. It was now decided that Seto Kaiba would, for the first time ever, pursue a girl. _So how does one ask a girl out anyway? _

...

_Today's the day I'm going to ask Serenity out! _Tristan thought confidently while spritzing himself with a bottle of pungent cologne. He'd been interested in Serenity Wheeler ever since he met her in the hospital. He hadn't been able to find time to talk to her in school, because they didn't have any classes together. The only real times he saw her was at lunch. Everyday he would sprint to the cafeteria and try to beat Duke in order to sit next to Serenity at their lunch table. _Aaah Serenity _Tristan thought. He knew he had a good chance at her, he'd been noticing that she wasn't really interested in Duke and C'mon, who else would she like?

"Kaiba! What is the answer?!" The teacher was growing impatient, apparently she had been waiting for an answer for quite some time. He drew his head up from his desk as painstakingly slow as possible and shot her a bored glance, "Does it matter?"

"Of course! Everything we do here is relevant to everyday life!"

"Yeah, the gestation period of frogs is real relevant." A couple of students snickered. Of course the teacher was less than amused, "Since you obviously think that what we do here is pointless, you may leave and don't plan on returning until you have done something about that attitude Mr. Kaiba!"

"I guess you won't be seeing me then," and with that done, Kaiba strode out of the room with a slam of the door. Serenity cringed at the loud noise. _Kaiba... _Serenity thought sadly _why do you have to make trouble? _"Um, excuse me, Miss?" Serenity asked, "Would it be possible for me to go to the restroom?"

The teacher let out a sigh and continued to pinch her forehead between her thumb and index finger. She waved Serenity off, "Just go." Serenity scurried out of the room as politely as possible.

"Kaiba, Wait!" Serenity ran down the hall and caught Kaiba's arm just as he was turning the corner. He stiffened a little at Serenity's touch, but he didn't make an effort to remove her grasp.

"What is it, Wheeler?" He said with some degree of harshness.

"I-I..." any confidence she had started to drain away and she let her arms fall back to her sides, "Where are you going?"

"KaibaCorp, where else?"

"I think that you should, um, come back to class."

"Why? There's no point in even being at this stupid school. I'm going to go back to working full time," he turned and was prepared to walk away from the school for good.

"No!! I mean, you can't."

"And why can't I?" Kaiba faced Serenity's pleading eyes.

"It's just, I really think Mokuba would be so disappointed. He looks up to you and if you drop out, that's something that I think would stick with him. Don't you want him to finish school? You're such a great role model for your little brother and, and... I guess I'm rambling, huh?"

Kaiba smiled slightly and scanned her face before looking down at his shoes. "Serenity, I need to ask you something."

"Anything," Serenity smiled expectantly.

"I was wondering if you'd-" but Kaiba was cut off by the bell and students flooded the hallway. Within seconds, Tristan came bounding up and placed himself between Kaiba and Serenity, "Hey Serenity. Since you're not busy or anything- here he shot Kaiba a glance- I thought you might want to walk to lunch together.

"Sure Tristan, just give me a second." She turned to Kaiba, "Just tell me at school tomorrow. You'll be there right?"

"Yeah," Kaiba said more to himself than anyone else.

Tristan quickly ushered Serenity away, she didn't need to be talking to Kaiba. He reached out to Serenity's books, "Here, I'll take those."

"Oh, sure. Thanks Tristan!" Serenity flashed a smile, _Tristan can be such a nice guy sometimes. _The two walked down the hall in silence. Something hung heavy in the air. It seemed that the silence now was unbearably awkward and it made Serenity think of all the times she had been in similar, silent, situations with Kaiba. She remembered it feeling so much more comfortable than now.

"So, uh, Serenity. I was thinking maybe, if you wanted, I could give you a ride to work or maybe you wanted to just hang out."

"Really? A ride would be great, thanks!" Serenity beamed, completely oblivious to his double meaning.

"No problem," he breathed rather defeated. _At least I'll get some alone time with her!_

The rest of the school day went relatively smoothly, with neither Kaiba or Tristan able to talk to Serenity. But the day was coming to an end and Kaiba had already heard that Taylor was going to try and ask out Serenity. But that was okay, because Kaibas never lose.

The wheels screeched to a halt in front of the bakery. Serenity was the first to break the silence, "Thanks again for the ride, you're a great friend."

Tristan rolled his head on his shoulders, "About that..."

Ms. Bradford burst through the shop door, causing the chimes hanging on the door frame into a frenzy. She knocked rapidly at the car window. Serenity rolled down the window and Ms. Bradford practically attacked her, a crazed look in her eye. "Serenity, you'll never guess what just happened. Come inside, quick!"

Serenity left a frustrated Tristan behind and followed her boss inside. Ms. Bradford slammed a yellow notebook on the table in front of her employee. Serenity observed her employer's current mental state and calmly formulated a response, "Ms. Bradford. That's a piece of paper."

"Good Heavens, Serenity, I know that! Its what's on the paper! We've just been invited to cater for KaibaCorp's annual worldwide business seminar, this is huge!"

"Wow, Ms. Bradford. That is so amazing, congratulations!"

"You make it sound like I'm going to be doing all the work! Get your apron on, dear, we got work to do!" The woman shuffled off excitedly into the storage room.

Serenity breathed out and scanned the details outlined on the notepad, "Wow. This _is _going to be huge."

**I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am. My computer crashed and I had to leave civilization for a week and I got sick and ohmygod I'm so sorry. I will never ever ever update this late again. Except may over the summer. I won't have a computer, but that' s along way off. Anyway, what did you think? I tried to make it extra long to make up for the delay. I hope you guys still like me and please let me know what you think of this chapter. **


	7. Chapter 7

**I want to start by saying a great big thanks to all my loyal reviewers, I know I'm not the easiest to deal with! Haha, but really I do appreciate it so much. I don't own YGO. **

**Ch.7-**

The theme of the party would be 'international affairs'. Important business people from around the world would be coming to the grand ballroom rented by KaibaCorp and they all expected nothing less than a five-star dining experience. Ms. Bradford was more than overjoyed when she heard that they had been selected to cater the party, but Serenity had her doubt about whether or not they would be able to provide what Kaiba was needed. Over two-hundred people are were scheduled to attend the event. Over two-hundred! No doubt that she would have to buckle down and work to pull this off. And one question still remained unanswered in Serenity's mind : _Why had Kaiba chosen the small café in the first place?_ There were surely many more competent restaurants in Tokyo alone that Kaiba could have picked.

Ms. Bradford had decided to close her shop temporarily so she could focus on the preparations needed for the Kaiba gala. The event was scheduled fo Saturday night and it was already Monday afternoon. Yet, she was determined to pull it off; she was furiously flipping through cookbook after cookbook when Serenity walked in. "Ms. Bradford?"

"Yes, dear," Ms. Bradford looked up at Serenity's face. Her glasses sat slightly crooked on her face and her gray hair was mused.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe you should fo take a walk or something to relax for a bit. I'll help you find something to make for the party."

"Oh, Serenity, you're an angel. What would I do without you?"She patted the girl on her head, even though she had to stand on her tippy-toes to do so. Serenity smiled at the fifty-something woman. "Be safe!" she called out and locked the door behind Ms. Bradford.

Serenity made her way back to the tiny office. She sat down in the old, cracked leather, office chair and picked up one of the cookbooks lying in a pile hovering dangerously by the edge of the desk. For the event, most of the food would need to be cold so it could be made at the café and then transported to the hotel hosting the party. Only a few dishes, such as the main course, could be made or heated onsite at the hotel kitchen. Finally, Serenity came upon a dish that could actually be of some use to her. She was just jotting down the recipe when there came a harsh knock on the door. Ms. Bradford had her key, so it was probably just a hungry customer who was to lazy to read the notice taped on the door. "We're not open!" she called from the back room. The person outside continues to bang on the door persistently. Serenity groaned and pushed back from the desk. She made her way into the front area, "I said we're not op...en."

Seto Kaiba stood outside the glass door, his hand frozen in mid- knock. She stood in the middle of the floor, her mouth wide open, until it occurred to her that he might want to come inside. She scurried to the door, tripping over her feet all the way, and flicked the lock open.

"What are you doing here?" She said hastily.

"Am I not allowed to see what I'm paying for?"

"Oh, right," Serenity somehow had the crazy idea in her head that he was there to see her, "Follow me then." She retreated back to the room she had previously occupied, Kaiba at her heels. He had to slow way down to match her small strides. She pulled out the binder Ms. Bradford and herself had put together over the KaibaCorp event. She handed him the binder and also the recipe she had just written down.

"What's... Taramasalata?" He pronounced slowly.

"It's a Greek dish. Its basically a pink mashed potato centered in a bed of colorful vegetables and crackers. Its pink because you mix it with roe. I prefer using salmon roe. Its best if you sprinkle sea salt on top as a garnish because sea salt goes really well with vegetables. If its done right it will look really elegant and taste just as good."

"You really know your stuff, Wheeler."

"Thanks," she said modestly and tried (and failed) not to blush. She tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear as she watched Kaiba's thin fingers flip through the pages of the binder. He would pause occasionally to look at something that piqued his interest. She stood rather awkwardly off to the side, dusting off things that were already clean. "Is this completed?"

Serenity was shaken out of her thoughts, "No, we still need to figure out the main course and the desserts."

"Okay then," he snapped the binder shut, "I think I'm done here."

"I'll walk you out."

"Oh and Serenity, there is one more thing," he said, pausing at the door.

"Yes?" Serenity gazed up at him.

Kaiba cupped Serenity chin with the very tips of his fingers. He turned her face slightly to the side and kissed her cheek as light as a butterfly. His skin brushed softly against her face as he whispered in her ear, "I'll see you at the party."

As soon as the door clicked closed Serenity's knees turned to jell-O and she grabbed on to the back of a chair for support. _Woah... _Serenity felt a bit faint as she crumpled into the chair. Why did Kaiba have such an effect over her? It was just a kiss! A meaningless, little peck on the cheek and yet, it had made Serenity's heart race and a tingle had shot down her spine making her shiver all over. Serenity, being a rational person, decided that it had meant nothing to Kaiba, it was probably the way he closed all his business deals. But Serenity hoped with all her heart that it was anything but business. _This is so confusing. _Serenity cupped her face in her palm; it felt warm to the touch. She sighed thoughtfully and gazed dreamily at the ceiling.

Kaiba smirked as he returned to his limo. He didn't even need to look back to know that Serenity had gotten worked up over his kiss. Serenity seemed so cute when she was defenseless and flustered. Kaiba had put a lot of thought in to the things he'd done over the past few days. Yes, it was risky to hire the bakery and he probably could have hired a much more capable restaurant, but now he had a sure fire was to see Serenity (and keep her busy and away from Tristan). The kiss however, was completely spur of the moment. He had wanted to see how Serenity felt about him and it seemed like a good way to find out. I didn't exactly hurt that Serenity's skin was so soft and tantalizing. It also held that lingering smell of cherry blossoms that Kaiba had grown to love so much. Besides that however, he wondered vaguely what Serenity thought of him. It wasn't hard to find out. Most of all her emotions were plastered on her face and it was clear that she felt strongly about Kaiba as well. But, she had something else in her and it set her apart from everyone else. He had yet to figure out what it was, but he was looking forward to figuring it out.

And, from what he'd seen, it wasn't a bad choice to pick the small café. True, picking it was merely a ploy to see Serenity, but it might pay off anyway. The notes on each dish were incredibly detailed. He could tell which ones were Serenity's right off the bat. Sitting next to her in class for so long, he had gotten to know her handwriting. Some might consider it messy, but Kaiba loved it. Everything was packed tightly on the line, but if you looked carefully you'd realized how much work went into each character. Every word was so thinly drawn it looked as if it was a strand of silk lying on the page. The words had perfectly straight lines and beautifully drawn curves and loops. Kaiba thought about his own handwriting. Tall, blocky letters spaced perfectly throughout the page. He probably made an imprint on the back of the page when he wrote. How strange the two were when he compared them. They could say the very same thing and tell an entirely different story.

Serenity was now more determined than ever to impress Kaiba at the gala. After recovering from her mental relapse following Kaiba's kiss, she got back to work. Her sleeves were rolled up and she prepared to make a test batch of what she hoped to be the dessert served. She chose something that reminded her of how she felt when Kaiba was there with her.

A simple white teacup would be the perfect accent to the already adorable dessert; a strawberry cupcake. The cup would be the baking mold and the serving dish, so there would be less hassle when it was time to serve it. She carefully spooned two tablespoons of strawberry preserves into the bottom of each cup and poured the vanilla cupcake batter on top. They would need to bake in a roasting pan filled with a layer of water for about forty minutes. While they cooled, Serenity washed off the whole strawberries. She decided to leave a little portion of the stem on for decoration. She felt the sides of one of the cups in her palm, it was no longer hot but a comforting warm. She placed a single strawberry on each cupcake and gently dusted them with powdered sugar. They all looked so perfectly cute and adorable that Serenity had to resist the urge to kiss her fingers and say, "Tres magnifique!"

_I guess I can check American food off the list! _She smiled triumphantly as she dug around in a drawer for a spoon. She plunged her spoon into one of the cupcakes, making sure to get some of the jam at the bottom. "Mmm..." She had gotten the amount of sugar just right! It made the confection sweet to the taste, but not enough to weigh down the batter, so it remained light and fluffy. As good as it tasted, Serenity couldn't help but noticed that desserts are always better when you have someone to share it with. What she'd give to be sitting across from Kaiba right now, to stare into his deep blue eyes; she could get lost in those eyes! _I wonder if Kaiba ever thinks about these sort of things _she thought as she placed her spoon in the saucer.

At that moment Kaiba was picking out a tuxedo for the big event. He looped the tie dangling around his neck into a bow. "We do have this white tuxedo, sir."

"That?" Kaiba eyed it in disgust. The salesmen quickly pulled out another, this time in an awful powder blue color. He nodded to Kaiba, seeking approval.

"If I want to look tacky, I'd say so."

"I'm sorry sir, there isn't much else. You rejected all of our top designs!"

"Is it really that hard to find a decent tuxedo? I might as well deal with a monkey."

He seemed a bit flustered, he wanted Kaiba to leave just as badly as Kaiba wanted to stomp on the man's face. He turned to one of the racks towards the back of the room. "There's this one."

Kaiba cocked an eyebrow and the tux draped over the man's arms, "I'll take it."

"Perfect!" The man grinned, he finally could get rid of Kaiba! "Let me go get Pierre to do your measurements." He shuffled off quickly.

A small man with a black handlebar mustache approached Kaiba hesitantly, "I need to, uh," He gestured at Kaiba with his tape measure.

"Fine, do what you need to," he stretched out his arms and the fitter measured the inseam of his jacket. He moved down to measure Kaiba's waist and pant length. He recorded the measurement sourly. It was no secret that many men were jealous of Kaiba's figure, and he was no exception. "We will have your suit ready by tomorrow," he said in an incredibly fake French accent.

The fitting ended and Kaiba grabbed his jacket and pushed open the door with his shoulder. He slipped his arms through the sleeves and stared up at the sky. Fall was already in full swing and the leaves swirled around his heels as he stomped down the sidewalk. Why he was walking? He didn't know either. It wasn't as bad as Kaiba thought however. He couldn't recall the last time he had spent more than ten seconds outside. _Was fresh air supposed to taste this good? _There were so many things Kaiba had yet to try. But why was he being exposed to so many new things and feeling all the sudden. Perhaps he was starting to become more open minded, or maybe he was finding Serenity in his life.

**Did you like my pun at the end? I really tried to focus on lots of descriptions and kind of show more of the characters thoughts and feelings, so I'm sorry that there isn't much dialogue. PLEASE review and let me know what you think, it's the only thing that keeps me going ! I am going to try my very hardest to update again by Sunday, but no promises. After that I have to leave for a period close to two months! I wont be able to update, waaah! Not that I update a lot anyway :P ! But I wont give up on this fic or my wonderful readers. But please review and I'll see what I can do about the future. Thanks for sticking with me!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I am so sorry for not updating on the date I originally had said. I did have this chapter finished and was unable to update for the previously stated two months. After that I had some family matters that needed to be taken care of. And on top of that, my spiral was lost! I got it back, but it was in another state, go figure! Anyhow, I know I've kept you all waiting, so with out further adieu I give you the next chapter! -I don't own YGO- **

CH.8-

"Hey Mai?!" Serenity called from the bathroom, "Could you come here for a second?"

Mai's face appeared around the corner of the bathroom door, "Sure, hun, what's up?"

Serenity had been fiddling with her hair for a good half hour. She tried horribly to untangle her comb from the ratty mess. "Can you help me with my hair?" She asked with a defeated look.

Mai smiled, "Well since you asked so nicely." She had the comb out with a flick of her wrist.

"How'd you do that?" Serenity asked, bewildered.

"Magic," she teased, "Now sit down and let me do your hair for ya'."

"Thanks Mai," Serenity pulled up a nearby stool and sat in front of the mirror. Mai grabbed a brush off the counter and began running it through Serenity's long hair.

"So Serenity, what's this big, fancy party I hear you're invited to tonight?" She plugged in her brand new flat iron, which Mai kept in her bag.

"I wouldn't say that I'm invited. The place I work at is catering."

"Either way, you're still in. Is it really hosted by the Kaiba brothers?" Mai asked as she massaged a special serum into Serenity's roots and worked it through each strand. She picked up the heated straightener.

"Yeah," she breathed. Even the mere mention of Kaiba's name made her stomach do somersaults.

Mai chuckled, "What did Joey have to say about that?" She finished with the straightener and pinned Serenity's locks to one side of her head.

"You know him, he kind of went into big brother mode."

"So basically lots of screaming?"

"Ha, yeah, pretty much. But I think he understands that its for my job. I probably won't even see Kaiba at the party!" she lied, recalling Kaiba's words when he kissed her.

"That's good. I hear that he's mellowed out a little though," she separated to chunks of hair and let them frame Serenity's face.

"Mellowed out?"

"Well, for Kaiba anyway. I heard he hasn't fired anyone in a whole week." She rolled up the rest of the hair into an elegant French twist. She pinned it and misted it all over with a hair spray that claimed to leave hair 'soft, shiny, and never stiff or sticky!'

"Voila! You're done."

"Oh my gosh, Mai! It looks amazing, thank you so much," she said embracing the blond warmly.

"No problem, now go show me your outfit."

"Okay," she hurried off to her room to get dressed. She returned wearing pressed black trousers and a matching black vest layered over a white long-sleeved dress shirt. It was, in a word, boring.

"You're wearing _that? _Serenity, you look like a waiter!"

"That's because I _am _a waiter," Serenity laughed.

"Oh, right," Serenity could of sworn she heard Mai add under her breath, "could at least wear heels!"

Serenity unbuttoned her vest and draped it over a chair. "So what are you up to tonight, Mai?"

Mai smiled demurely, "You're brother is taking me to _Aliments d' Amour _for dinner!"

"Ooh fancy. I'm sure you two will have a good time," she said genuinely.

"I hope so, but we can't miss our reservations. In fact," She glanced at her watch, "We better get going. Joseph! Joey, Joey get up!" She ran over to the couch and tried to shake Joey awake. _Good luck! _Serenity thought as she returned to her room.

It was almost five now and Ms. Bradford wanted to be at the hotel by six. The party was scheduled to start at about seven-thirty, so Serenity figured that it was probably a good idea to leave soon. She pulled out her drawer and searched for something special. Her fingers felt the cool metal and she pulled out the small clip. It was a small silver hairpin with pink crystals lined in a row on top. Joey had bought it for her birthday when she was young. She clipped it towards the back of her hair and smiled at her reflection in the mirror. "Alright, I guess its time to go."

She rebuttoned her best and slipped on a coat to keep her warm from the nearing winter. "Oh no," Serenity gazed up at the sky as she locked the front door, "It looks like its going to rain."

Indeed the sky had grown dark as clouds formed over head. _I better hurry! _Serenity picked up her pace and made it to the bakery at five-thirty. Ms. Bradford put her right to work packing food into the three vans they rented. The third van had a built in insulation to keep their frozen food cold on the way to the hotel. Serenity finished packing up the last of the entrees and slid in to the passenger seat. She breathed warm air into her hands to warm up her fingers. Ms. Bradford slammed the door closed and jammed her key into the ignition. "Alrighty dear, we're all set."

Serenity smiled at the older woman, her hair gathered in a severe bun at the nape of her neck. She was living the dream. After all the hard work the two of them put in, it was finally happening. People all over the world would be reading about this party in newspapers and watching it on stupid pop culture shows in America, and yet Ms. Bradford didn't seem to have a care in the world. It seemed Serenity was shouldering anxieties for both of them.

She traced the falling raindrops collecting of her window as she watched prole hurry about the busy streets. She smiled as a young child stepped out from under his mother's umbrella, only to have a rain drop splat on the middle of his forehead and run back to snuggle in his mother's sweater.

"We're here," Ms. Bradford slowed the car to a stop. Serenity wiped the fog off the window with her jacket sleeve and looked up at the huge building. Brick and glass rose twenty stories above them and Serenity marveled at how it could stay perfectly upright and not topple over into the street below. The service entrance was a gorgeous structure itself. Great stone pillars rose and connected together in a grand arch threaded with ivy clinging to the small spaces in the brick. Serenity could hardly imagine what the main entrance must of looked like!

She flipped up the hood of her coat and hopped out in the drizzle. The two women unloaded the food from the vans and brought it into the hotel's kitchen. Luckily for them, they had six or seven people hired by the Kaiba Corporation to help them prepare and serve the food. It felt like a blur as she and people dressed exactly like her rushed around a crowded room all carrying huge platters and trays. It was Serenity's job to help prepare each dish and put finishing touches on all of the plates before they could go out.

...

Time rolled by and the party was scheduled to start soon. The first half hour Kaiba was to spend greeting guests and getting 'fixed up' with anything that had a face. That was one of the many reasons Kaiba didn't socialize- clingy girls with no personality or brains. At eight o' clock sharp dinner was to be served, and after that the ballroom would be open for dancing and more socializing. Kaiba groaned inwardly at the thought, but he had to focus on the future. These people could be potential investors and stockholders, he couldn't afford to piss to many of them off. A few would be okay, though. He smirked to himself.

"Seto!" Mokuba bounded up to Kaiba, who was currently addressing the vice president of Fairfax Gaming in Australia.

"Not now, Mokuba," he said through gritted teeth.

"But Seto!" he persisted.

'Its all right. I know how little brothers can be. We'll talk later," the man replied in a thick down-under accent.

Kaiba moved off to the side with Mokuba. "What is it?" he snapped.

"Where should I put the package?"

"Package? Oh right! Go find an empty room for it and then bring me the key."

"Kay!" and with that, Mokuba was off. All Kaiba could see was a mop of black hair weaving through hoards of people. Kaiba smiled when he noticed Mokuba brush off a thirty-something woman who was trying to stop and talk to him. He could of sworn he saw Mokuba's mouth form the words, "Get off me you grandma!" Mokuba was turning in to a fine young Kaiba.

...

A voice came over the P.A. and announced that dinner would be served shortly and that everyone make their way to the dinning area. Serenity's throat tightened. This was it; if she messed up 200 people would see it. She took a deep breath and pushed her trolley through the kitchen doors. This was the first time Serenity had seen the ballroom and she was in complete awe. The ceiling stretched up almost as high as the building itself and was painted so ornately it was if she was staring up at the heavens themself. Angels were frolicking and laughing, being misted by surrounding clouds, it was amazing. Serenity looked down to find the same image being reflected off the marble tile. Her eyes couldn't find a place to rest, there was just so much to look at! At one point she was admiring the gold accents across the room when she bumped into the server ahead of her. "Watch it!" He hissed.

"Sorry!" _Thank god no one saw that! _The servers finally approached the ten long tables where the guests were seated. Every servers cart contained enough food for twenty people, or one table. Each waiter picked a table and dolled out the food. Unfortunately, Serenity had been one of the last people to exit the kitchen and was unable to serve Kaiba's table. She brushed it off and handed each guest their food with a smile. The starting course was minestrone soup served in a sourdough breadbowl that Serenity had spent the entire day yesterday carving. Accompanying the soup was her taramasalata. As the carts were being wheeled away she looked over at Kaiba's table to see him take a bite of the Greek food. He looked up and caught her staring and smirked as he crunched a bell pepper. Serenity blushed and sped out of the room. _I hope that means its good! _

The first course went off without a hitch and a few employees were sent to collect the empty dishes; Ms. Bradford and Serenity stayed behind to finish up on the main course, wild mushroom risotto. Serenity chopped the flat leaf parsley and went down the line, sprinkling it in. They waited five minutes after the dishes were brought in to send out the next one.

As the carts ere wheeled out for the second time Serenity was so focused on not bumping into anybody that she forgot about Kaiba and ended up serving the exact same table.

...

Kaiba saw Serenity veer off to a different table again. Was she avoiding him? He looked over at her as she was serving one of the guests. A sweet smile graced her face as she poured more champagne in the man's glass. Kaiba felt his blood boil as he saw the man lean back in his chair so he could take a long look at Serenity's backside as she moved on to the next person. How dare he take advantage of Serenity's naive innocence like that! A new feeling was bubbling up in Kaiba that he not felt since he was a child. Kaiba made a swift hand motion and a few of his guards came over. He whispered to them what her needed them to do.

Two guards, roughly shaped like refrigerators, seized the man by his shoulders and began leading him towards the exit. "What? What's going on?" he protested.

"Mr. Kaiba asks that you leave quietly,"one of the men responded. Within seconds, the important business man was tossed out in the rain like common trash.

Whispers erupted throughout the room and Serenity shot Kaiba a puzzled look. He didn't make eye contact. If she had the time she would have approached him about it but the next dish required some of the most preparation.

This time, Serenity mad sure to be the first one out of the kitchen so she could serve Kaiba's table. Since Kaiba sat at the head of the table, she moved in a clockwise pattern so she could serve him last. As she made her way around the table she didn't once look at Kaiba, but she could feel Kaiba's eyes boring into her. She began to grow more and more nervous as the number of people between herself and Kaiba began to dwindle. 4, 3, 2, 1...

"Your sorbet, Mr. Kaiba," Serenity politely laid one scoop of light and airy lemon sorbet in front of Kaiba.

He eyed the frozen food suspiciously, "This is the dessert?"

"Of course not. Its to cleanse the palate between courses."

"I see. And is this a candied lemon peel?" He asked twirling the sweetened peel between his fingers. It was his favorite game- trying to act professional towards her because she always became so flushed and nervous.

"I thought something slightly sweet would go with the tanginess of the lemon in the sorbet," she explained as calmly as her nerves, she really didn't want to make any stupid mistakes in front of Kaiba.

He smirked knowingly, "I'm looking forward to your dessert as well."

"I hope you like it," Serenity blushed and looked around the room. All of the other servers had returned to the kitchen already. She quickly tried to turn the cart around, bumping into the chair of the French ambassador. "I am so sorry!" She continued to try and maneuver the heavy cart. Kaiba chuckled to himself, _she's still as clumsy as ever. _

A few of the women at Kaiba's table had witnessed the slightly prolonged interaction between the waitress and CEO. One woman, with bleached blond hair and eyebrows that had been plucked so many times that she always looked surprised, leaned to her right and whispered, "Who is that little tart?"

The brunette, toying with her strand of pearls replied, "She's just a server girl. Middle-class. We don't have any competition from her."

The blond snorted, "Yeah, no one in this room would ever put a rock on _her _finger!"

The pair was suddenly interrupted from their haughty laughter by Kaiba, who wore a sickly smile, "Excuse me ladies, did you enjoy your meal?"

They both nodded furiously. The blond added, " It was so good, but I couldn't finish it because Im so thin, as you can see." She sucked in her stomach for good measure.

"Uh-huh," Kaiba said unconvincingly, who personally saw her down everything on her plate.

The brunette with the pearls piped up, "You made an excellent choice in catering. We all knew you would, though!"

"Is that so? Do you, in fact, know who made the food that you've been gorging yourselves on?"

Four mascara-ed eyes blinked back at him like guppies, obviously taken back by his bluntness.

"The young woman you saw me talking with came up with and executed all these dishes. She's only a high school student, no less! What exactly is it that you two do?"

"I'm an heiress!" The blond replied proudly.

"So you do nothing then? I suggest that next time you feel like trash talking someone who exceeds you in every conceivable way, you don't." He turned away only to turn back as an afterthought popped into his head. "For the record," he began, "I know of at least one person in this room who would be more than happy to marry her." He finished, surprising himself at his own words. He had never thought about marriage as something actually possible for him until now. Of course he wasn't about to ask Serenity to marry him or anything rash like that, but it was a viable option for the future. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself, after all he had yet to ask Serenity out, but if everything went according to plan tonight he wouldn't have to worry about that much longer.

"So Mr. Kaiba, how is KaibaCorp doing this quarter?" Kaiba was jolted out of his thoughts and surprisingly found himself back at the dining hall in the prestigious Masahiko hotel.

"We has a three percent increase in revenue from our European distributors.. We're starting our new chapter in the western Russian market. Most of the logistics have been sorted out, we are just looking for financial investors to help us back it. We've already calculated a tenfold return on all investments made," Kaiba said, back to business.

The man laughed, jostling his comb-over to reveal a receding hairline, "Always the business man, I see! Anyhow, you've intrigued me. My firm will be in touch."

"We hope you do," Kaiba replied cooly. He already had a line of companies who would kill for the chance to back KaibaCorp's new Russian line, but Kaiba was always fond of letting small companies get their hopes up only to be crushed into submission by some major chain.

Kaiba took a sip of his wine. Yes, he was underage, but when you have his social standing, rules don't apply. Besides, it was all for appearances; who would want to throw money at a company who's leader drinks apple juice.

Kaiba heard the now familiar sound of wheels rolling over marble. He was shocked to discover that they were wheeling away empty sorbet dishes and bringing the dessert out. He looked down, he didn't even get a chance to try it yet and it would be a waste if he hadn't even tasted it. He quickly shoveled a large spoonful of sorbet into his mouth, instantly regretting it. The cold shot through him and settled in his head. _Brainfreeze, an amateur mistake. _

"Did you not enjoy your sorbet?" Serenity smiled at him, knowing all to well what just happened. He shortly discovered that the profound coldness wouldn't permit his vocal chords to do what he willed them.

"Did you eat to fast or something?" She gave him and innocent smile. She felt pretty bold teasing Kaiba so openly, but he looked so cute and helpless, she just couldn't resist. "At least let me pour you some tea," she offered.

He nodded and she poured the steaming tea in his cup. He took a careful sip, not wanting to embarrass himself further by burning his tongue or spilling it. Serenity whispered in his ear as she set his dessert down, "Don't worry, hardly anyone saw. A woman at another table got her wig caught on one of the trolleys, pulled right off!" She giggled, obviously lying to try and make him feel better.

By now, Kaiba was over the brainfreeze and was smiling slightly. As she pulled away, the hair around her face tickled his ear, causing his brain to kick into gear. He still needed to tell her! He grabbed her arm as she was leaving, with much more force than he intended. Serenity gave a short yelp and pulled her arm away, cradling it like a bird with a broken wing. "What was that for?" Her face was twisted in an expression of hurt and confusion. Only a few people were actually looking at this scene strangely. For all they knew she probably forgot to bring him his water or something.

"I'm sorry. I just needed your attention," Kaiba whispered, genuinely sorry, but more than a little embarrassed to be apologizing in public like this.

"You can get my attention without hurting me," she said softly but firmly and continued rubbing the spot where he grabbed her. It was probably red underneath her sleeve. "I have to get back to the kitchen," she said curtly.

"Wait," he said, "I'm sorry, okay. Will you let me make it up to you?"

The look on Serenity's face told him to continue in that direction.

"I was actually planning on giving it to you anyway, but if you'd like, it can be my apology gift."

"You got me a present," she said, the girlish excitement taking over, "What is it?"

"You'll see," he slipped a room key into her hand.

Serenity's eyes widened. Her friends in high school told her that when a boy gave you a room key...

"I had Mokuba put your gift in there," he clarified, " I couldn't leave it out in the open."

_Oh thank God! _Serenity quickly wheeled back to the kitchen, letting out a huge sigh of relief. I mean, she liked Kaiba and everything, but that wasn't something Serenity wanted to do for a really long time!

She pushed open the swinging doors to the kitchen with her back and for the first time all night, found relative peace in the kitchen. Everyone was helping to wipe down the granite counter tops or mopping floors. She found Ms. Bradford washing and drying the cooking equipment that was to return to the bakery. "Oh! Serenity, there you are. I was looking all over for you. Would you ming giving me a hand with this?"

Serenity clutched her hand tightly around the card key in her pocket, the corner digging into her palm. She would hate to seem rude, after all she was here to do a job, but she really wanted to see what Kaiba got her. "I would love to, but um, would you mind if I took a personal errand. Seto Kaiba wanted me to do something for him."

Ms. Bradford looked at they teen's hopeful face for a long moment, "Of course you can go, sweetie. You've already helped me so much."

"Ooh, thank you so much! I will never forget your kindness!" She gave the old woman a quick squeeze.

Ms. Bradford gazed fondly at the girl's back as she left the kitchen. The other day she had returned to the bakery and found Serenity drawing lazy circles on the table with the tip of her pointer finger and eating a cupcake. Later, she found out that Kaiba had stopped by. After that, she began to notice how Serenity brought up Kaiba's name unnecessarily in conversations. 'I hope Kaiba would want this place setting', or 'I hope Kaiba will like this much salt in his food'. Ms. Bradford had even joked with Serenity that if she worried anymore about what Kaiba thought, she turn in to him! She had known all along what was happening. After all, she herself had known well of young love. _But that was a long time ago. _

**So what did you think? Did you like the ending? I'm still unsure if I will reveal to you Ms. Bradford's past. And again I am so sorry, I never planned for this to take so long to update. The gala was also too long to fit into one chapter so I split it up. PLEASE review, it lets me know you care. Well, even if you don't care- please review. I LOVE YOU ALL!!!**


End file.
